Vin Diesel first brought the character of Riddick to life in a slick B
movie science fiction/horror presentation called “Pitch Black”. As
Riddick, Diesel was sheer menace in motion for the first part of the
movie and truly looked as though he was going to be the ultimate
villain. That part ended up being played by the indigenous predatory
life forms that only came out in the extended darkness on the planet,
giving the film its name. That feature also played to Riddick’s
strength because his eyes had been altered so they couldn’t stand
bright lights and he could see perfectly in the darkness. By the end of
that movie, Riddick managed to escape and bring a few other survivors
with him when they finally blasted off for outer space.
When I found out there was going to be a sequel, I truly believed we
were going to get another science fiction/horror ...

It is several years after “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” and John Connor
(Nick Stahl) is now a nomad. He travels around the country alone, works
odd jobs and never stays in one place for too long. While it appears as
if his and his mother’s actions in the previous film have prevented the
global apocalypse, his nightmares and instincts tell him that doom lies
just around the corner. Appearing from the future are the “TX” (Loken)
intent on killing all of John Connor’s seconds-in-command, including
Catherine Brewster (Danes), the young daughter of an important military
general (Andrews) who is being pressured to upload a program called
“Skynet” into the worldwide web in order to eradicate a world-wide
computer virus. On the TX’s trail is another T-101 (Schwarzenegger),
intent on assuring the future of John Connor and Catherine Brewster.
Jonathan Mostow’s sequel follows the pattern set by the previous films:
a central chase filled ...

Universal had high hopes for “Doom.” An international consortium was
put together to make this moderately expensive movie, based on a home
video game wildly popular the world over. But the movie tanked at the
box office—has ANY movie based on a video game done particularly well?
It’s possible that they tend to make their money in ancillary
markets—that is, on video.
But even if that’s true, if a customer has a choice between a standard
DVD of the movie and this high-definition DVD, there’s no compelling
reason to go with the more expensive disc, as high-definition adds very
little to this movie—which needs all the help it can get.
Occasionally, studios have fun playing with their logos, as when with
movies with winter setting, we see the logo covered in snow. Universal
has had more fun with the image BEHIND the logo—the Earth itself. (So
shouldn’t the name be Planetary rather than ...

When this remake of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” was
announced a couple of years ago, the idea was met with much
consternation. The 1971 original has become a much-beloved family
favorite and a few generations have grown up with its deliciously
twisted story, charming heart and memorable songs. How could a remake
in the cold corporate world of the ‘00s even begin to compare? The easy
answer is simple- by returning to Roald Dahl’s original book (and
title) and visualizing parts of the story that were a technically
impossible to do 30 years ago. Apart from that, Burton filters the
story through his personal vision and gives it a completely odd ball
charm that frequently catches you off-guard.
Reclusive, brilliant candy magnate Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp) has kept
himself locked away in his candy factory for decades. Unseen by the
public for years, the world goes Wonka-crazy when a worldwide
sweepstakes is ...

Based on the short-lived 2002 Fox TV series “Firefly,” this miraculous
spin-off feature tells the tale of a small rag-tag group of outlaws and
lost souls aboard the rust bucket space ship Serenity. After rescuing
one of their crew, a psychic named River (Glau), from a security
facility, the crew finds her emotionally unstable and discovers that
she has been programmed to let loose in violent, room flattening
outbursts when a subliminal message is broadcast in her vicinity. As
Captain Mal Reynolds (Fillion) flees the coldly lethal government
operative (Ejiofor) sent against them, he endeavors to decipher the
federation-shattering secret that River carries buried in her head.
This extremely likeable and original science-fiction adventure plays
like a thinking man’s underdog version of “Star Trek.” Serenity’s crew
is a morally grey but honorable and ultimately justified bunch and one
roots for them passionately and feels their shocking losses strongly.
Thematically and iconically it’s somewhat reminiscent ...